An Interesting Question: Can a Person Live Off their Condo Garden?

I went to a business networking breakfast this morning sponsored by the Small Business Advocacy Council. I mentioned to the group that I started this blog along with my interest in local and community grown food.

One man asked me if I think I could based my entire diet on what I can grow on my condo balcony.

My initial answer was  no because I'm not a vegetarian, but it left me wondering if one planted correctly, could a person fulfill their fruit and vegetable daily requirments from what can be grown on a condo balcony, at least during harvest season.

Since much of my garden is comprised of herbs, I don't think I've planted correctly for such a project. However, you can grow tomatoes, lettuces, kale, eggplant, broccoli, zuchinni, eggplant, green beans, peas, peppers, onions in addition to several kinds of berries. You  can even grow root vegetables such as carrots with the right varieties in the right containers. Parmex carrots (pictured left) have short round roots and can be grown in a container that's as short as 12". It's also possible to grow a dwarf Meyer lemon tree indoors in a container. So, now I'm starting to think this is possible.

On the other hand, you  has to ask yourself how much of each item can be grown in the available area. Lettuces required a good amount of spacing between plants. I only got 3 Red Sails to a 36" planter. You should only plant 1 eggplant plant (that might yield 4-7 eggplants) to a five-gallon container, 2-3 carrots in any one one-gallon container, and that instruction refers only to the smaller varieties of carrots. Here's a handy guide to container size and plant number for a variety of garden vegetables and fruits from Texas A&M. So, while you can plant many things in containers, you might not get enough of any one thing to make real meals out of them.

You also have to consider that some plants, particularly the berries, won't or shouldn't be allowed to produce at all in the first year.

It's probably also really expensive considering the cost of potting soil, soil additives for acid/alkaline levels desired for each plant, and other plant food requirements, containers, netting to keep the birds away from the berries.

It's certainly an interesting question and it is making me think about adding additional vegetables, and a Meyer lemon to try it out for a month or two. However, I don't think it's cost effective, at least for the first year when you're having to purchase a lot of supplies and the berry flowers should be removed. Perhaps in subsequent years, when you already have the supplies and only need to purchase soil and seeds or plants, it starts paying for itself.

That being said, I am hoping to get a good yield from this garden and to cut down my trips to the store and farmers market and to get that great feeling of cooking something I have grown myself and the great taste of well grown fruits and vegetables that are allowed to ripen fully before picked.